The report said Robert L. Dilenschneider, a spokesman for Dobbs, said Tuesday the Senate run in 2012 is a much more likely option than a presidential bid that has been rumored in recent days. The conservative Dobbs, 64, who lives on a farming property in Wantage, would likely run as an independent candidate, Dilenschneider told the newspaper.

APLongtime CNN commentator Lou Dobbs, left, who resigned from the cable network last week after 29 years, speaks with Bill O'Reilly during taping a segment for Fox News channel's "The O'Reilly Factor, " in New York Nov. 16.